Corporate themes

As artificial intelligence (AI) features such as machine learning and predictive analytics start to creep into all software, and every industry, how is it impacting the marketing function?

With our visibility into retail, banking and telecom industries, were seeing how AI is transforming all aspects of marketing, from smarter buying of online advertising, to predicting what each customer will want next to increasing share of wallet.

For example, in Japan, Nestle is using robots at the retail store to ask people about their coffee preferences and answer product questions. The robots can even read peoples facial expressions and voices to determine how they feel, and change their responses accordingly!

Online media buying is another area where AI can make a big difference, automating what is now a labor intensive process rife with fraud.

But where we see the most promise in AI-enabled marketing is in the customer experience. We think that AI will completely transform the customer journey across industries, enabling consumers to interact with companies and brands in new and exciting ways. Were already seeing some of this transformation with our Digital Software & Solutions platform, which has AI integrated into some of its applications. This makes it easier for marketers in retail, banking and telecom to take advantage of this advanced capability. For example,

• AI will help telcos anticipate future customer purchases and automatically present consumers with highly-relevant offers and opportunities that cement their relationship • Banks that harness AI will gain the advantage of faster digitization and provide customers with cross-channel, targeted, on-time products and services • AI will help multi-channel retailers deliver a seamless brand experience spanning both the virtual and real worlds, bridging the two in the eyes of the consumer across all channels

Kathleen Holm is Marketing Director of the TCS Digital Software & Solutions (DS&S) Group. She has more than 25 years of experience marketing technology software and services to enterprises worldwide. She leverages her extensive background in enterprise software technology to help organizations develop effective marketing strategies, create targeted messaging and positioning, and implement effective go-to-market plans to improve corporate performance. Prior to joining TCS, Kathleen was a Senior Principal of technical product marketing for Oracle Fusion Middleware where she was responsible for defining the marketing strategy based on industry maturity and customer trends. She also held positions at IBM including Market Manager for WebSphere Developer Programs, Market Manager for Tivoli Integrated Service Management and Tivoli Brand Specialist. Prior to joining IBM, Kathleen worked with four high-tech startups.